Thursday, January 13, 2011

January is icewine month! To celebrate, here is the recipe I created for the iYellow Wine Club featuring our star, icewine!

Just as a fantastic icewine strikes the perfect balance between sweetness and acidity, any dish made with icewine should do the same. For such a special wine you want the other flavours in the dish to complement the icewine rather than overpower it. Lemon Ricotta Crepes with Berry Icewine Sauce is the perfect example of this. Despite ricotta being the main ingredient in this dish, the subtle flavours of the creamy cheese lets the icewine take centre stage. Inspired by traditional Italian cannoli filling, the ricotta mixture mimics those same sweet and acidic flavours you get in icewine, but with a touch less sweetness. Hugging the ricotta are thin, delicate crepes speckled with fragrant lemon zest, which is topped with a generous drizzle of sweet, yet complex berry icewine sauce. The addition of lemon in both the crepe and filling brings f

reshness to the dish allowing your taste buds to experience that same refreshing taste that comes with a sip of icewine. The only thing that can make this dessert more special is serving it alongside your favourite Vidal icewine.

Tip: To ensure that your crepes are not greasy, take a small piece of paper towel and rub it in softened butter. Quickly, carefully, and lightly rub the paper towel with the butter onto the hot pan so that you have the thinnest layer of butter possible on your frying surface.

Ingredients:

Crepes

3/4 cup flour

1 cup milk

3 eggs

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 tsp salt

1 tbsp sugar

1/4 tsp lemon zest

Filling

1 400g container of fresh ricotta cheese

4-5 tbsp confectioners sugar

1 1/2 tsp lemon zest

2 tsp fresh lemon juice

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Sauce

1 cup raspberries

1 cup blueberries

6-7 tbsp VIDAL sauvignon blanc icewine

Directions:

Lemon Crepes

1. Whisk or process (using a food processor) all ingredients until blended. Transfer batter to a bowl or container, cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

2. On medium-low heat, lightly grease a small crepe pan (see tip above). When pan is hot, add 1/4 cup of the crepe batter and tilt your pan around so that the batter covers evenly. Fry crepes for approximately 60 seconds on one side, or until golden. Using a spatula, carefully flip the crepe and fry on the other side for approximately 30 seconds, or until golden. Repeat with remaining batter. Crepes can be made up to 2 days in advance and may be reheated upon serving.

Lemon Ricotta Filling

1. In a medium bowl, stir together the ricotta with the lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla extract. Sift in the confectioners sugar (you may add 4-5 tbsp depending on your taste). Refrigerate until ready to serve. Filling can be made up to 2 days in advance.

Berry Icewine Sauce

1. In a food processor fitted with the steel blade, puree raspberries and blueberries until liquified, but not so much that the seeds begin to crush.

2. Pour berry mixture into a fine sieve resting over a bowl to remove the seeds.

3. Once berry mixture has been strained, stir in the icewine. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Assembly

1. If crepes have been made in advance and refrigerated, reheat, wrapped in tin foil, in a low temperate oven or toaster oven until warm.

2. Lay a crepe out flat and add desired amount of lemon ricotta filling down the centre of the crepe. Drizzle with berry icewine sauce and roll the crepe up. Drizzle with additional berry icewine sauce and garnish with fresh raspberries and blueberries. Repeat with remaining crepes. Enjoy served alongside Vidal icewine.